Data catalog for violence-related research

Strengthening Chicago's Youth (SCY) is very excited to share our new catalog of violence data! This data catalog provides access to data resources that can be used in violence-related research. Topics include crime incidence, youth risk behaviors, community concerns, violent deaths, academic performance, census data and additional areas of interest. Users can also find information based on various geographical boundaries and download an array of data files.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago received a $12 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the hospital’s Healthy Communities program in its efforts to address child abuse, unmet mental health needs, and violence and its effects on youth. These are three of the eight priority areas identified in Lurie Children’s latest Community Health Needs Assessment.

Breanna Hollie, LCSW, a care coordinator for TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, Inc.), closely follows the young people she refers for services through the Juvenile Justice Collaborative.

When her best friend was killed last year, Victoria began a downward spiral. Her childhood had already been marked by her family’s financial instability, frequent relocations and violence at home.

After she got into a fight with another teen, Victoria was arrested, and faced the possibility of incarceration in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Research has shown that youth who spend time in juvenile detention centers are more likely to engage in future criminal activity, do poorly in school and have substance abuse and mental health issues. Research has also shown that teenagers’ brains are still developing. They often cannot gauge the consequences of their actions and are vulnerable to peer pressure.

Instead of being placed in detention, Victoria’s probation officer referred her to Lurie Children’s Juvenile Justice Collaborative, an innovative new model aimed at giving juvenile offenders a second chance. After a comprehensive assessment, Victoria was referred to services at one of the 10 community-based agencies participating in the collaborative.

Innovative care coordination model to keep young people from being incarcerated

Strengthening Chicago’s Youth (SCY) at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, together with Cook County Juvenile Probation Department, TASC, the Illinois Collaboration on Youth and 10 community-based service providers, launched the Juvenile Justice Collaborative project. Up to 50 young people, ages 12 to 18, will be referred to the Collaborative to receive appropriate mental health and other services instead of spending time in the juvenile justice system.